Do you leave the parks for a rest every day?

[carone0318]

We voted no, but will leave early or come late. We always either travel in late June or late August. When we get to the parks, we are having so much fun that we don't even realize what time it is and next thing you know it is like 6pm. If the kids were giving us problems that would be one reason to go back. But we have gone every yr at the either of the above months for the past 8 yrs and dd is now 11 and ds is 7. It works for us.

 

[tam626]

My son will be 3 & still takes naps, so we will be going back for a nap.

 

[Momvic5]

I voted it depends. Our first December trip to WDW, we did not rest at all. We ran like mad people and our children were 4, 6, and 9yrs old at the time. However on our last December trip, we did go back to our resort to swim and rest two out of the seven days we were there. Looking back, those were probably my childrens' most memorable days. They were able to swim and kick back and just enjoy the moment. My Dh and I prefer not to rest, but while we have children at home, we want to enjoy them and the things they enjoy too. This next December trip we are planning on a few rests but not everyday.

 

[spiceycat]

definitely - allergic to the sun - so from 11 am to 3pm - just can't be outside in the florida sun.

no choice in the matter.

 

[LisaInNc]

We always take a break. It makes the trip better for us. I usually change clothes for dinner and it makes me feel refreshed. I do it even on solo trips.

 

[dismom9761]

I tried forcing a break on my kids and we did get a great nap but it wasn't worth it to us.My youngest always napped well in the stroller and my other two (my oldest doesn't like Disney ) are like the energizer bunnies.

My inlaws always take breaks though.Their boys are 11 and 10 and whine/cry without a midday break.

 

[abouley]

We used to be the open to close kind of people even with small kids but we have realized that a mid day break from the park (even if that means going to DTD or just seeing another resort) kept ME from getting cranky by the end of the day....My feet were tired, I was hot, I was tired of the crowds etc. Most of my experience has been with DL as we live in CA and go there often. I think if you have enough that you don't need to spend all day, every day to see what you want to see, it works out well. Gives time to actually enjoy the resort you are staying at, see things outside the parks, etc. However, we are struggling with the mid day break thing for our next trip since the parks are open shorter hours 9-7. My DD naps for close to 3 hours so that is a long time out of the parks. Most likely we'll do a combination of things but plan to be at RD almost every day since kids are early risers. We are planning most lunch ADR and we'll play the afternoons/evenings by ear. We have 13 days in Orlando so plenty of time to see everything we want to see and enjoy some downtime. Hopefully we won't come home feeling like we need a vacation from our vacation like the last time we were there and did 6 park days open to close straight!

 

[pigletto]

We haven't been as a family.. but I am anticipating a break nearly every day.
I am basing this on the fact that a 5 or 6 hour day of errands can turn the four of us into really cranky people.
It's hard to know for sure if it will be needed because we'll be having so much fun.. but I know my kids and if they get really hot/tired they will bicker like crazy which then makes dh and I really cranky... so it's best to go with the flow for us and plan for a midday rest or swim.

 

[lntsmom]

I answered always have and always will. We typically go in August and we need a break from the heat. We don't go back to the room to nap, but we do go for a swim, which we all consider restful after the heat and chaos of the parks.

What are the temps like in August?

We've only been to WDW twice. The first time was the first week of May. One day was only in the high 70's, the rest were in the mid-80's.

This time we went about 3 weeks later, so I figured temps would be in the mid80's to low 90's. Nope. One day was in the low 90's. The rest were between 95 and 99. We were there during what they term late spring!

I'm still trying to figure out, were the temps that week a fluke? If the first of June it's 99...how the heck hot is August????

I'm thinking of changing jobs again next year and have been interested in a district that goes year-round, partly so we could take advantage of cheaper Disney season vacations. But, if it is 105 every day in August, I think we'll stick to May!

 

[djm99]

wE ALWAYS LEAVE WHEN STAYING ONSITE. WHEN WE STAY OFFSITE WE NEVER LEAVE. wELL, ONCE WE DID, BUT WE NEVER WENT BACK FOR THAT DAY.

 

[kldmom2000]

When I was a kid-my parents never had us leave...

When DH and I started going together, we always took the mid-day break since we always stay on property (YC/BC)

Now that we have kids, it's a necessity... ESPECIALLY when we go in August!!!

We generally are there for the rope drop and leave after lunch... then return to a different park for dinner and the evening.

Last year we were asked to be a family of the day in AK and ride in the parade That meant we couldn't leave the park since we had to be @ the parade entrance @ 3:30pm and AK is kind of a pain to get back to via Disney Transportation. It was 98 degrees and so humid you could cut the air with a knife. We did Kali River Rapids around 2:30 to try to cool down, but our side barely got wet By the time we had to get on the float for the parade, we were drenched with sweat Ewwwwwww Our girls were cranky as anything but held up ok for the waving/smiling from the float.... We had a blast doing that, but you'd better believe we high-tailed it out of the park after the parade by 4:30/5 and didn't do a park that night Cancelled our ADR's and just ate at the hotel and swam in Stormalong Bay all evening....

So.... yes-we ALWAYS take a mid-day break even just to shower/refresh/swim esp. in August!

 

[daisy2jae]

We try to take a rest around a parade. We find a shaddy spot about an hour before the parade starts. We let the kids rest and have a quick nap or snack. My husband usually can fall asleep anywhere. I on the other hand can not. The sitting for an hour before the parade and then sitting through the parade gives us a great rest without having to waste time going back to the resort.

 

[Chelley00]

We did on some days, and not on others. We just listened to the kids, and tried to break up days that were after a full day at the park, or after we had a late night or early morning the day before. We were also there in October/November, when it's not as crowded, not hot and when the parks aren't open extremely late.

 

[proteus]

It depends on the park for us. If it is Epcot or Magic Kingdom we stay for most of the day. MGM, Animal Kingdom and water parks we do 1/2 days and go back to the hotel before returning for more fun.

 

[dopey67]

I think it all depends on what time of year you go, where you stay and who you are with.

Every since I can remember going when I was younger we alway went in July. We would always go for a swim in the afternoon. Not so much nap but maybe have lunch also at the hotel. Then go back into the park, there is also alot to do at the hotel if you are on property.

Now that I have my own family and still go the last two weeks in July I still like to hang out at the pool in the afternoon. We did go for the holidays once and stayed in the parks all day because they close ealier.